The U.S. Naval Ship (USNS) Burlington conducted a joint training exercise with the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard on September 18.
According to a release from the US Embassy here on Saturday, the operation included countering illicit trafficking operations and monitoring techniques. The USNS has been in the region undertaking operations with Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, the release said. In September last year, Guyana and the US reactivated a shiprider agreement which had been agreed to many years ago but never entered into force.
“Specifically, the US Coast Guard and the Guyanese Coast Guard can do joint patrols. So, for example, if there is another ship in Guyanese waters and it is potentially suspected of carrying illegal illicit goods, such as drugs, minerals, weapons, anything of that nature, then they can pursue the ship together. That can mean the Guyanese military person joins the US Coast Guard and vice versa. They will work together in order to pursue this effort… There is an element that can provide for training, specifically for the military personnel, of course, and on the job as they are actually doing their work… It will also allow the Guyanese shipmen to observe what the US Coast Guard shipmen are doing and it is kinda bit of on-the-job training, if you will and a transfer of some skills along with the security efforts itself,” US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch had explained to Stabroek News in an interview in September last year.
The US Embassy release on Saturday said that USNS Burlington is the U.S. Navy’s 10th Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) vessel. EPFs are versatile, non-combatant, transport ships that are being used for high-speed transportation of troops, military vehicles, and equipment. The release said that the vessels support a variety of missions including overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, support of special operations forces, theatre security cooperation activities and emerging joint sea-basing concepts.
